Music box



M. MARDER Sept. 22, 1964 MUSIC BOX Filed Feb. 12, 1962 FIG.2

AT TO R N EY.

United States Patent 3,149,525 NEUSEC BGX Michael l t larder, 1111 E. 231st St., Bronx, N.Y. Filed Fe 12, 1%2, Ser. No. 172,560 3 Claims. (Cl. 84-95) This invention relates to music boxes of the type having blocking means which are operatively connected to the musical movement and adapted to render the music box inoperative when desired. Such blocking means are well known, a preferred form comprising a rotatable flywheel connected through gearing with the music drum. By inhibiting movement of the flywheel the music box is rendered inoperative.

It is an object of the invention to provide a music box of the aforesaid type having novel blocking means.

Another object of the invention is to provide a music box which is normally inoperative but which will play music when moved to inclined positions.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the combination of a music box and fluids dispenser such as a babys nursing bottle which, when separated from the music box, will render the latter inoperative in all positions thereof and which when engaged with lock control means associated with the music box will render the same operative in all positions thereof but one subject to the control of blocking means for the musical movement.

According to the present invention there is provided a music box having a frame upon which is mounted driving means, a musical movement operatively connected to said driving means, and blocking means connected with said musical movement to interrupt the operation thereof when said frame is in one predetermined position, said blocking means including a driven rotatable member and pivotally mounted means actuable by the force of gravity when said frame is inclined from said one predetermined position such that said pivotally mounted means are pivoted out of the path of rotation of said rotatable member whereby the blocking means in rendered non-blocking.

The present invention also provides a music box having a frame upon which is mounted driving means, a musical movement operatively connected to said driving means, and blocking means connected with said musical movement to interrupt the operation thereof when said frame is in one predetermined position, said blocking means including a flywheel having at least one leaf-like arm secured to the rotatable shaft thereof, a pivotally mounted member being provided preventing rotation of said leaf-like arm when said frame is in said one predetermined position and being pivotable out of the path of rotation of said leaf-like arm, by the force of gravity, when said frame is moved out of said one predetermined position.

The invention further provides a fluid dispenser-music box combination, comprising a music box having a frame upon which is mounted driving means, a musical movement operatively connected to said driving means, and blocking means connected with said musical movement to interrupt the operation thereof when said frame is in one predetermined position, said blocking means including a driven rotatable member and pivotally mounted means actuable by the force of gravity when said frame is in all but said one predetermined position such that said pivotal- I mounted means are pivoted out of the path of rotation of said rotatable member whereby the blocking means is rendered non-blocking, said pivotally mounted means having lock control means associated therewith and normally abutting against said blocking means to interrupt operation of the musical movement in all positions of the frame, and a fluid dispenser which, when brought into operative engagement with said lock control means, releases said 3,149,525 Patented Sept. 22., 1964 lock control means and transfers the control operation to said pivotally mounted means.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a side elevation illustrating a modification of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the music box comprises a frame 1 upon which is mounted a musical movement of known construction and generally identified with the reference numeral 2. The musical movement includes a spring housing 3 containing driving means such as a wound spring and a rotatable drum 4 which is operatively connected as through gearing with the driving means.

As is well known in the art and therefore not illustrated in the drawing, the rotatable drum has projections thereon in a preselected pattern such that when the drum rotates the projections contact a plurality of tines 5 and thereby play a given melody.

Blocking means is also mounted upon the frame and includes a rotatable shaft 6 arranged to be driven by the musical movement through means such as a train of gears. Leaves 7 and 8 are fixedly mounted on the shaft 6. Accordingly, when the blocking means is free to rotate, no inhibiting force will be exerted on the musical movement and it will be operative. However, when the blocking means is prevented from rotating such as by impeding the path of movement of leaves 7 and 8 the force of the drivin spring is overcome and the musical movement is rendered inoperative.

Referring to FIGURE 1, a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will be described.

Secured to the frame 1 by means such as screw 9 is a mounting plate or bracket 1t having a pair of spaced but generally parallel upturned ears 11 formed with aligned openings 12. A generally L-shaped member 13 has one of its legs 13b rotatably mounted in the aligned openings, the free end of the other leg 13a being bent. Mounted on leg 13a is, for example, a cylindrical mass 14; the mass may, if desired, be fixed, as by soldering, to the leg, or as illustrated in the drawing may be slidably mounted thereon. Biasing means 15 formed of relatively stiif wire has one end thereof looped about leg 13b as illustrated in FIG. 1 and has its opposite end slidably connected to leg 13a below the mass 14 and supporting the same in its adjusted position. By providing leg 13a in arcuate form rather than straight, it will be possible to position the cylindrical mass 14 along leg 13a by effectively increasing or decreasing the length of this leg, as, for example, by bowing the leg 13a to reduce its effective length or by straightening same to increase its eflective length.

From the disclosure thus far made, it will be apparent that when the frame is horizontally disposed the cylindrical mass 14 may be adjusted to be in the path of rotation of leaves 7 and 8. Since the rotatable drum 4 and shaft 6 are driven from the same source, i.e., the wound spring within housing 3, it will be seen that by preventing rotation of shaft 6 by impeding the leaves 7 and 8, the musical movement will be interrupted. However, when the frame and its support are inclined from the predetermined horizontal position the center of gravity of the cylindrical mass 14 on leg 13a will gradually shift until a sufficient moment of force is created to cause leg 13b to begin to rotate in its mounting to the dotted position shown in FIG. 1 in which the mass 14 has been caused, upon tilting of the frame, to be moved from its static position toward its ultimate displaced position which is approximately in a counterclockwise direction from its illustrated position. In its ultimate displaced .3 position, the cylindrical mass 14 is out of the path of rotation of leaves 7 and 3 thereby permitting shaft 6 to fully rotate with consequent operation of the musical movement and the music box.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications of the embodiment of FIG. 1 can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, instead of supporting the cylindrical mass laterally of the leaves 7 and 8 by means of the L-shaped member 13, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the same result can be achieved if the mass is suspended above the leaves from a bracket mounted to the frame, so as to block movement of leaves '7 and 8 when the frame is horizontally disposed but being swung from the path of the leaves upon inclining the frame from the horizontal.

FIG. 2 illustrates a modification of the invention in which the blocking means of the music box is associated with a locking device. As in FIG. 1, the music box includes a frame 21 which mounts rotatable shaft 26 having leaves 27 and 28 fixed to said shaft. The blocking means, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1, are connected to the driving means either directly or through means such as a gear train (not shown) and is free to rotate therewith until the movement of leaves 27 and 28 is inhibited. However, any other conventional power transmitting means may be employed. The basic distinctions between the construction illustrated in FIG. 2 and that shown in FIG. 1 is that according to FIG. 2 the music box, when separated from the device to be associated therewith and hereinafter described, will be inoperative in all positions thereof, i.e., whether the frame is in a horizontal or inclined position. However, when the device is operatively associated with the music box, the latter will operate in the same manner as the music box described in connection with FIG. 1, i.e., it will be inoperative when the frame is horizontally disposed but will be rendered operative when inclined from the horizontal. This is accomplished by providing a locking control which will now be described.

Mounted to the frame is a generally Z-shaped bracket 29 having one end thereof secured to the frame by means such at 3h. The opposite end portion 31 of the Z-shaped bracket 29 is formed with a fulcrum support for a balance arm member 32. It will be understood that any known manner for mounting arm 32 on bracket 2? may be utilized. Thus, for example, a yoke may be formed on the bracket and the arm may ride therein or a pair of upturned ears may be provided with aligned openings therein through which a pin may be inserted to ride in a corresponding aperture in the balance arm. The balance may be integrally formed or operatively connected at one end with an upwardly extending portion 32 which is adapted to fit through an opening 33 in a top cover 34 for the music box assembly. At the opposite end of the balance arm there is pendulously supported a mass 35 in such position that when the frame 21 is in a horizontal position the mass will abut against the leaves 2'7 or 28 during rotational movement of the shaft 26 thereby impeding the movement of the latter. However, when the frame is inclined to the horizontal, the mass will be moved out of the path of rotation and, under normal operation, would not act as blocking means for the music box. However, due to the locking member 36, which is fixedly suspended from the balance arm and in the path of the leaves 27 and 28, when the fluiddispensing device 37 is not operatively connected to the music box, the rotatable shaft 26 will be prevented from rotating in all positions of the mass 35. When the bottom surface of the device is brought into proximity with the top surface of the cover 34 it will push the upwardly extending portion 32' of the balance arm downwardly to the dotted position thereby pivoting the balance arm about its fulcrum and causing the locking member to clear leaves 27 and 28. However, since arm 32 and the relative positions of mass 35 and locking member 36 ithereon are specially designed, the mass 35 will still re main in the path of rotation until the frame is tilted out of the horizontal to thus permit the force of gravity to act upon the mass and cause same to swing out of the rotational path of the leaves.

The fluid-dispensing device which is to be associated with the music box is preferably a baby bottle 37. However, it will be obvious that the music box of this invention has application with other fluid-dispensers. With the arrangement disclosed, when the device is, for example, a baby bottle which can he slipped into a carrier case 37 connected to the music box cover, it will be readily apparent that the music box will not operate until it is sufficiently tilted from its horizontal as would occur when a baby is drinking a liquid from the bottle. Where, however, the container is removed from the carrier case the upwardly projecting portion 32' of arm 32 will be urged through the cover of the music box either by biasing means (not shown) or as in the illustrated embodiment by the mass 35 suspended from the balance. In such event the locking member would immediately be lowered into the rotational path of leaves 27 and 23 and the music box would be rendered inoperative regardless of the position of the same. The advantages of this construction will be immediately obvious. When the bottle is not associated with the music box the latter will under no circumstances operate. However, when the bottle is connected to the music box, as hereinbefore described, and held in inclined position as would be the case when a child is feeding, the music box would become operative and serve as an inducement to the child who would associate the feeding eriod with the music generated by the music box. in this form, it will be seen that the combination of the music box and the fluid-dispenser provides a valuable training aid in the feeding of a child. With sli ht modification, which will be within the province of the skilled worker, the combination device can be constructed as a training aid for animals.

It will also be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may find a useful application in other types of musical apparatus differing from the types already stated.

Whereas the invention has been illustrated and described in conjunction with a particular type of musical movement it is not intended to be so limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

What I claim is:

1. A music box having a frame upon which is mounted driving means, a musical movement operatively connected to said driving means, a flywheel having rotatable leaves mounted upon a rotatable shaft driven by said musical movement, a generally L-shaped member having one leg thereof rotatably mounted on said frame and the other leg slidably mounting a mass thereon above the frame, said mass being adapted to directly engage the leaves of said flywheel and interrupt the musical movement when said frame is rotated to a predetermined position, biasing means being provided about said rotatably mounted leg and connected to said other leg below said mass and in engagement therewith to normally urge said mass into the path of rotation of said flywheel when the frame is in said one predetermined position, said mass being adapted to slide on said other leg out of the path of rotation by virtue of the force of gravity when said frame is moved to any other position.

2. A music box according to claim 1, in which said biasing means is a relatively stiff wire with one end looped about said rotatably mounted leg and the other end slidably connected to the said other leg, said wire being adapted to be flexed to thereby adjust the range of movement of said mass.

3. A fluid dispenser-music box combination, comprising a music box having a frame upon which is mounted driving means, a musical movement operatively connected to said driving means, a flywheel mounted upon a rotatable shaft driven by said musical movement, blocking means for interrupting the rotational mmovement of said flywheel to thereby stop the musical movement when 5 the frame is in one predetermined position, a bracket mounted upon said frame supporting a lever arm pivotally intermediate the ends thereof, said lever arm carrying a downwardly projecting locking member adjacent one end, said locking member normally projecting into the rotational path of said flywheel to prevent rotation thereof, the other end of said lever arm provided with an upstanding projection which normally extends through an opening in the upper Wall of the housing for the music box, said upstanding projection being adapted to be moved downwardly by engagement with the bottom of a fluid dispenser to thereby pivot said lever arm about a point intermediate its ends and thus cause the said locking member to move upwardly out of the path of rotation of the flywheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 342,986 Ward June 1, 1886 2,252,289 Kind et al. Aug. 12, 1941 2,529,368 Bazelon Nov. 7, 1950 2,929,290 Smith Mar. 22, 1960 3,059,608 Lee Oct. 23, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 201,025 Switzerland Ian. 16, 1939 316,361 Switzerland Nov. 30, 1956 

1. A MUSIC BOX HAVING A FRAME UPON WHICH IS MOUNTED DRIVING MEANS, A MUSICAL MOVEMENT OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DRIVING MEANS, A FLYWHEEL HAVING ROTATABLE LEAVES MOUNTED UPON A ROTATABLE SHAFT DRIVEN BY SAID MUSICAL MOVEMENT, A GENERALLY L-SHAPED MEMBER HAVING ONE LEG THEREOF ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND THE OTHER LEG SLIDABLY MOUNTING A MASS THEREON ABOVE THE FRAME, SAID MASS BEING ADAPTED TO DIRECTLY ENGAGE THE LEAVES OF SAID FLYWHEEL AND INTERRUPT THE MUSICAL MOVEMENT WHEN SAID FRAME IS ROTATED TO A PREDETERMINED POSITION, BIASING MEANS BEING PROVIDED ABOUT SAID ROTATABLY MOUNTED LEG AND CONNECTED TO SAID OTHER LEG BELOW SAID MASS AND IN ENGAGEMENT THEREWITH TO NORMALLY URGE SAID MASS INTO THE PATH OF ROTATION OF SAID FLYWHEEL WHEN THE FRAME IS IN SAID ONE PREDETERMINED POSITION, SAID MASS BEING ADAPTED TO SLIDE ON SAID OTHER LEG OUT OF THE PATH OF ROTATION BY VIRTUE OF THE FORCE OF GRAVITY WHEN SAID FRAME IS MOVED TO ANY OTHER POSITION. 